Lecture 2 (article and knowledge clips)

Question 1

What are the components of job control in the Job-demand-control model by karasek?

Answer 1

• decision latitude refers to the degree of control that employees have over their work tasks and their ability to make decisions. It is a central concept in the Job Demand-Control (JDC) model by Karasek, which suggests that employees with higher decision latitude experience less job strain and are better able to handle high job demands.
• Skill discretion is a component of decision latitude and refers to the range of skills an employee can use at work. It involves the opportunity to apply a variety of skills and to engage in learning and problem-solving tasks, which fosters personal growth and motivation. Employees with greater skill discretion tend to have more fulfilling work experiences, as they feel their skills are being fully utilized.

Question 2

What are the 2 hypotheses in the demand-control model?

Answer 2

1. strain hypothesis
2. active learning hypothesis

Question 3

What are iso-strain jobs?

Answer 3

jobs in which there exist -
1. high demand
2. low control
3. low social support
they are the most stressful kind of jobs, and are harmful to health.
- result in negative health outcomes like burnout, anxiety, and cardiovascular problems

Question 4

what are some important unresolved issues regarding the JD-R

Answer 4

1. the model’s epistemological status,
2. the definition of and distinction between “demands” and “resources,”
3. the incorporation of personal resources,
4. the distinction between the health impairment and the motivational processes,
5. the issue of reciprocal causation,
   model’s applicability beyond the individual level.

Question 4

what was added as an extension to the demand-control model?

Answer 4

social support.
types -
1. emotional support
2. practical assistance
3. sense of belonging

• this buffers the negative effects of high demands and low control

Question 5

What are job demands?

Answer 5

Physical, social, or organizational aspects of a job that require sustained physical or mental effort, leading to physiological or psychological costs (e.g., work overload, interpersonal conflict, job insecurity).

Question 6

What is the main purpose of the early JD-R model (Demerouti et al., 2001)?

Answer 6

To understand the antecedents of burnout by examining the effects of job demands and job resources on employee well-being.

Question 7

What are the two processes proposed by the early JD-R model for the development of burnout?

Answer 7

1. Exhaustion process: Long-term job demands without recovery lead to exhaustion.
2. Disengagement process: Lack of job resources causes withdrawal or disengagement.

Question 8

How do job demands and job resources interact according to the early JD-R model?

Answer 8

Job resources can mitigate the negative effect of job demands on exhaustion, especially when job resources are abundant.

Question 9

How does the revised JD-R model (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) expand on the original model?

Answer 9

It introduces work engagement as a positive counterpart to burnout and considers burnout and engagement as mediators between job demands/resources and outcomes like health and turnover.

Question 10

What is the energetic/health impairment process in the revised JD-R model?

Answer 10

it refers to the process where high job demands and burnout lead to health problems, such as depression or cardiovascular disease, by gradually draining mental resources.

Question 11

Q: What is work engagement, and what are its three core components in the JD-R model?

Answer 11

Work engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by:

Vigor (high energy and resilience),
Dedication (significance and enthusiasm),
Absorption (deep focus and involvement in work).

Engagement fosters better performance and commitment through the impact of abundant job resources.

Question 12

How do job resources function in the motivational process of the revised JD-R model?

Answer 12

Job resources play both:

1. Extrinsic motivational roles by helping achieve work goals.
2. Intrinsic motivational roles by fulfilling basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Question 13

What is the role of work engagement in the revised JD-R model?

Answer 13

Work engagement mediates the relationship between job resources and positive organizational outcomes, such as commitment and performance.

Question 14

According to the revised JD-R model, how does burnout affect employee health?

Answer 14

Burnout, caused by high job demands and lack of resources, leads to health problems like depression and cardiovascular issues, mediated through the draining of mental resources.

Question 15

What is more predictive of burnout and work engagement: the additive effects or the synergetic effects of job demands and resources?

Answer 15

The additive effects of job demands and resources are more predictive than their synergetic effects, based on research by Hu et al. (2011)

Question 16

What are personal resources?

Answer 16

Psychological traits linked to resiliency and the ability to control one’s environment.
Promote work goals and stimulate personal growth and development.

Question 17

How do personal resources moderate the relationship between job characteristics and well-being?

Answer 17

Personal resources buffer the negative effects of job demands on burnout and enhance the positive effects of job resources on work engagement.

Question 18

What are the 5 ways in which Personal Resources can be integrated into the JD-R model?

Answer 18

1. direct impact
2. moderation
3. mediation
4. Influence Job Characteristic Perceptions
5. acting as a third variable

Question 19

what are the Types of Job Demands (Crawford, LePine, & Rich, 2010)? And how would they be re-classified into job demands and job resources

Answer 19

challenge and hindrance demands
- Challenge demands (e.g., workload, responsibility, time pressure) are demanding but can promote personal growth, mastery, and future gain. These demands tend to increase engagement. It can be considered as a job resource, as it is a positively valued demand, as it increases work engagement.
- Hindrance demands (e.g., role conflict, ambiguity, red tape) tend to block growth, learning, and goal attainment, leading to burnout and reducing engagement. It is still a job demand.

Question 20

“resources may not always be experienced positively.” explain with an example.

Answer 20

For example, job control, which is typically seen as a resource, might be viewed as threatening by some employees who feel overwhelmed by it. In such cases, a resource might function as a demand.

Hence:
- Challenges are positively appraised demands that function like resources.
- Threats are negatively appraised resources that function like demands.

While most job demands are appraised negatively and most resources positively, exceptions exist. This appraisal perspective can provide deeper insights into the interaction between demands and resources, and future research should examine the positive (challenge) and negative (threat) valences of these elements.

Question 21

What are threats?

Answer 21

Threats are negatively appraised resources that function like demands.

Question 22

Which earlier models does the JD-R model build upon?

Answer 22

The JD-R model builds upon the Job Demands-Control (JD-C) model and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model.

Question 23

What do the JD-C and ERI models provide that the JD-R model does not?

Answer 23

The JD-C and ERI models provide specific causal mechanisms that explain the interaction between job demands and control or the balance between effort and rewards, which the JD-R model does not delve into as deeply.

Question 24

How is the JD-R model applied in practical settings?

Answer 24

JDR monitor. It is an online tool which assesses job demands, resources, personal resources, psychological states, organisational outcomes.
it provides feedback on various levels like team, personal, and organisational comparisons to benchmarks like national averages or similar companies.
It also helps identify areas of improvement related to stressors, work engagement, burnout risks and retention strategies.

Question 25

What is the seven step cyclical process to run the JD-R monitor?

Answer 25

1. problem identification
2. designing of JD-R monitor
3. Internal communication
4. Survey and individual feedback
5. Analysis and Reporting
6. Survey feedback
7. Intervention
8. Evaluation

Question 26

What are the criticisms of the demand-control-support model?

Answer 26

criticisms of the demand-control model -
- it oversimplifies the complex nature of work stress by focusing primarily on demands and control, while neglecting other factors like social support or the nature of the work itself.

criticisms of the demand-control-support model -
- social support is multifaceted
- it is difficult to measure, or apply consistently
- neglects individual differences, and organizational culture
- may not account for contextual variability

Question 27

What is recovery?

Answer 27

Recovery refers to the process during which an
individual’s functioning returns to its prestressor level and in which strain is reduced
It can be seen as a process opposite to the strain process during which the detrimental effects of stressful situations are at least alleviated or even eliminated.

Question 28

What processes lead to strain in employees?

Answer 28

When job demands—such as high workload, time pressure, or emotional labor—become overwhelming, they can lead to strain,
which manifests in various forms like fatigue, anxiety, irritability, or burnout.
The strain process develops when individuals are exposed to ongoing stress without sufficient breaks or recovery periods, leading to depletion of energy, decreased mental resilience, and reduced ability to cope.

Question 29

“detachment is a double edged sword.” what does this mean?

Answer 29

This means that detachment has its own set of pros and cons. pros are that it has positive health effects that come with it, but on the other hand, it has negative motivational effects. This is true for cognitive detachment, because, if one continues to think about work problems during free time, it leads to the development of solutions, which leads to more productivity, flow and motivation.

Question 30

what is the “Matching Principle” in the DISC model?

Answer 30

The best way to counteract job demands is through matching job resources that correspond to the type of demand.
Example: If employees face emotional demands (e.g., difficult clients), emotional resources like support from colleagues are the most effective in managing those demands.
If matching resources are unavailable or depleted, employees may turn to other, less effective resources (e.g., job control).

Question 31

what does “detachment” from work mean?

Answer 31

Defined as “leaving work behind” or mentally “switching off” after work.
Detachment is essential for recovery from work-related stress, particularly for high-strain jobs.

Question 32

what are the dual effects of detachment?

Answer 32

1. Positive Effect on Health:
   In jobs with high demands and low resources, detaching from work helps restore depleted internal resources, benefiting health.
   Example: Healthcare workers with emotionally demanding jobs benefit from emotional detachment to avoid burnout.
   Research supports detachment’s role in reducing exhaustion and improving health (Sonnentag, Binnewies, & Mojza, 2010).
2. Negative Effect on Learning and Creativity:
   In jobs with high cognitive demands and resources, detachment might reduce active learning and creativity by disrupting problem-solving thought processes.
   Low Detachment in these cases may actually enhance creativity, as employees continue thinking about work problems during nonwork time, allowing for more efficient problem-solving (Fritz et al., 2010).

Question 33

what are the two principles of the disc model?

Answer 33

1. multidimensionality of job demands and job resources - cognitive (head), emotional (heart), physical (hand)
2. matching
   - strongest health effects when demands and resources are matched